Charlie Wilson, 1933-2010

Should Obama resort to recess appointments?

Is it possible to debate national security without innuendo about aiding the enemy?

Teleprompters and crib-hands: Who cares?

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Send to a friendCharlie Wilson, 1933-2010 Should Obama resort to recess appointments?Is it possible to debate national security without innuendo about aiding the enemy?Teleprompters and crib-hands: Who cares?

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Critics of Sarah Palin’s Tea Party appearance have focused on the trivial issue of her magic marker palm notes while giving too little attention to a mean-spirited and revealing statement that should have drawn more attention than it has.

The palm notes seem down-to-earth, not remotely cheating, and no real indicator of ability. Her critics sound like the too-smart kid in the class complaining to the teacher about someone else’s advantage.

What was really appalling about her speech, my son Drew noted, was the shear meanness of her sarcasm about Americans whose hopes for a better life for themselves and their families were raised by Obama’s candidacy. Whatever one thinks about Obama’s presidency, his candidacy undoubtedly fueled real hope for many whose lives need change. What did Governor Palin have to say to those people? In a voice dripping with dismissive sarcasm, she asked
“A year later, I've got to ask the supporters of all that, how is that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya?”
Palin’s question was welcomed with derisive laughter by her crowd. Laughing about – and at-- the disappointed hopes of fellow Americans, many of whom I saw stand with their children for hours and hours in inclement weather to see a candidate who gave them hope for a changed America, is not an expression of populism but of something far less appealing.

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